Damn...jes bough this thing and now.....

Unit74

Unit74

Final Approach
Joined
Mar 8, 2014
Messages
6,992
Display Name
Display name:
Unit74
So we are gonna have a 3rd(and final) child. I bought my Archer in May of this year and have dropped about $7k into it so far. When it came out of the avionics shop a couple weeks ago, she hands me the check book and says, " I don't know why you are spending all this money. I know you are going to sell it and get something bigger, anyway. Besides, we can't all fit in it now."

Now, I'm not smart, but I do recognize an opportunity when it falls in my lap. So now, 4 months after buying it I am looking at a Velocity RGXL Dash 5 sometime spring/summer next year.

Anyone know about these planes? I would buy, not build. Looking at the $160Kish range.
 
Saratoga would be a good step up from the archer
 
I would not suggest surprising your wife with a Velocity with the word EXPERIMENTAL written on the side and then having her ask "Who built this? Did he know what he was doing? Where does all the baby's stuff go? etc." Also, while I can see it being possible to haul your oldest kid in the right front seat while your wife rides in the back with the middle kid and new baby, I'm not sure it's going to be much of a long term solution. I'm not even sure there's any place to put the stroller, or even a way to load it into the baggage area if it would fit at all. For a retractable for that family, I'd be thinking much more in terms of a PA32R or a BE36 with a nice big back door for loading all the things that accompany small children on their travels. Note also that with those planes you can pull one of the rear seats to increase baggage area.

It's like there's a reason you see the hottest sports cars being driven by old farts like me -- who have both the money to afford them and the freedom to have a car to haul no one but themselves. Folks in their 20's don't have the money, and folks in their 30's have families to haul. You have to be at least in your mid-40's to have the money but not the accoutrements.
 
Last edited:
agreed, with 3 kids you really only have 3 choices of single engine planes commonly available

A36
PA32/32R
C205/210

a 5 seater isn't going to cut it. That includes 33/35 bonanzas and comanches with the alleged 3rd row seats.

with 160K to spend - I'd get a really nice A36 and have enough left over to get something fun to fly by yourself
 
Ron Levy said:
I would not suggest surprising your wife with a Velocity with the word EXPERIMENTAL written on the side and then having her ask "Who built this? Did he know what he was doing? Where does all the baby's stuff go? etc."
Click to expand...
That's a bit of a reach Ron. This may sound odd, but some women trust their husbands judgement when it comes to what is safe to fly in.

That said -- things are going to be really tight with that plane. Like it was mentioned above you're really in A36 territory.
 
Traveling with 3 kids and two adults requires more space than weight carrying ability.:D Think Bo or Cherokee 6.;) For your $160K budget, you should be able to find a real nice A36
Good rule of thumb:
4 seats=4 small adults limited bags
5 seats= see above, but maybe more bags
6 seats= 4 adults and bags or 2 adults and up to 4 kids and most of the stuff needed for kids.:D
Car seats take up a lot of space!
Congrats on number 3!!
 
I'm not ready yet, but you are close enough that I would have suggested a partnership in a be55 of some vintage. For the same $$s, you can get the job done with the same airplane after the kids start to grow. And you would have the piper for short trips.

With the twin market in the toilet, they are kinda making some sense (as if aircraft ownership makes any sense). A 470 or better be55 will climb well to get over the weather, be a comfortable ride, and give you some options in IMC you wont have with the velocity... Even more so with a 300hp x2 twin.

Only thing.. Twins still scare me.. But if my wife decides we need a mommy carrier, I'll be looking for a partner... The 35 stays as I just like to fly- the wife is just looking for transportation... Not sure if you are in the same predicament...
 
I am trying to avoid the 6th seat for insurance purposes. What is very tasty to me with the Velocity is the 200kt cruise. Most of our family is in SoCal. The Velocity would get us there in a day.

I don't really want a twin though. There are birds out there that are singles with comparable stats and half the burn rate. I might consider a partnership in a twin but just don't see myself flying it around like I do the Archer.

What aircraft will have the room plus at least 180kts cruise in a single?
 
I am having this same issue.. I am debating between finding a couple partners and getting into an A36, or biting the bullet and looking at adding the multi and getting a C-310 or a seneca. We have 2 older kids 8 and 9, and just had a baby 2 months ago. Just moved to vegas, and have all our family in CA. I know it's a 4 hr drive to visit, but the fact that it's a 1-2 hr flight is SOOO much tastier.
 
What puts me off bout a 6 seat plane is that right now,my archer is $850'a year for insurance, $1m coverage on $72k hull. When I was shopping around, insurance on a retract HP plane $120k was to the tune of $3kish.

If I could go in with a partner half share the most, I would be all over an A36 if they wanted to base at my airport.
 
6 seats were the same problem for me: insurance/MX $$s. So, I have my time builder that is also my weekly flier. Whether an A36/C210/twin, more hours and IFR hours will push that number down a lot (for insurance anyway).

From what I've been reading, the choice (in the certified side) is basically between a TN'd single and a twin. If you are to remain in Arkansas and visit family in cali, then it seems you not only need speed, but climb rate / service ceiling. But this is outside my experience.. (Not sure ice will be a huge deal for us as well - at least not as bad as in the NE - again, outside my experience, but what I've been reading so far.)

Sure would be painful to get a velocity and then decide you need 6 seats...

Of course, you could just buy a PC-12 and not worry about talking to us flunkies ;)
 
I pay $2200 a year on a PA 32R with a hull of $140K. I was paying $900 a year for a PA 28 235 with a hull of $40k. In my case the rates seem to be determined more on the hull value and not the fact that it has 6 seats or a retract.
 
You're gonna be looking at over $4,000 for full coverage on an XL. I pay 3 grand on a 173. The high performance will only be part of the increase over your Archer. It's experimental and there have been some incidents / accidents in Velocitys that have been pushing up insurance costs. Some won't even touch you unless you go through the Velocity training program at Sebastian.
 
Time in make and model will help, I am not sure an experimental 5 seat 200 knot airplane is going to be cheaper to insure than an A36 with similar hull values. :dunno:
My 182 is $1400 per year for $75K, million liability and a 19 year old student pilot as a named insured. :dunno:

Unit74 said:
What puts me off bout a 6 seat plane is that right now,my archer is $850'a year for insurance, $1m coverage on $72k hull. When I was shopping around, insurance on a retract HP plane $120k was to the tune of $3kish.

If I could go in with a partner half share the most, I would be all over an A36 if they wanted to base at my airport.
Click to expand...
 
Sounds like I have some thinking to do....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top